Mercenary Kings

Video Preview Of Tribute Games' Old-School Shooter

Mercenary Kings just went live on July 22 via Steam Early Access. Game Informer's own Matt Helgeson, Tim Turi, Jeff Marchiafava and myself teamed up to try out some of the games' early stages.

The way the Early Access program works is developers release a prototype version of their game on Steam and players can offer feedback that will help the final product. Here's Tribute Games' statement from it's store page:

“It’s an earlier, not completed version of the game. It currently has 60 missions whereas the completed version of the game will have over 100! This version of the game still needs your feedback to get it in the best possible shape and it’s why we are releasing it now!”

Watch as we check out both the single-player mode and 4-player local co-op in the following video preview.

I dig the art style, it looks a little retro without being too limiting. The gameplay looks very Contra-inspired. I never enjoyed Contra, but I think I'd enjoy this game if the controls are tighter and the missions and weapons are more interesting than Contra.

Got this on Steam Early Access and I had to use a gamepad to fully enjoy the experience (they don't have the option to set controls yet, but I suppose once it does I'll be able to play using my keyboard better). Weapons are highly customizable, gameplay is pretty straight forward (run & gun, dodge, stay alive), controls and menus need a bit of work especially with managing inventory, but I am hoping that all the progress I've made on it will carry over into the final product (if not, then I just bought a 15 dollar demo for nothing).